Aden, Yemen: The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a drive-by shooting that killed two security personnel in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Sunday.

In a statement by its official news agency Amaq, the IS said that its fighters assassinated "two apostate soldiers in Aden's neighbourhood of Mansourah", Xinhua reported. The terror group also posted four pictures showing two of its fighters launching the attack in Aden.

File image of Islamic State flag. Reuters

Meanwhile, a local security source also confirmed the assassination. "Two security guards at Aden's port were killed by terrorists while they were heading to the workplace," he told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Last month, the IS claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings that struck the headquarters of the counter-terrorism forces backed by the United Arab Emirates in Aden. Medical sources said the bombings killed 6 soldiers and injured 53 others, mostly civilians.

Aden is considered Yemen's temporary capital, as the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based itself there since 2015. During the last two years, terrorist groups such as the Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the IS, had an active presence in the southern part of Yemen. The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since 2014, when the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab military coalition which intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced him into exile. The UN has listed Yemen as the country facing the world's top humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.